Even though it was not my candidate taking the oath, it was still moving to see the events unfold. I am going to provide a brief overview of the past few days. I have yet to process how much truly happened because it all happened so fast, but its significance is nonetheless valuable and historic.
It is my goal to make this e-mail as interactive as possible. There will be links throughout the e-mail that will take you to photographs from my Picasa web albums page and to videos from my YouTube page. I think they will be able to give you a better sense of my experiences.
Sunday, January 18th, 2009 - "We Are One" concert
As I mentioned, Washington, D.C. was particularly cold the days leading up to and the day of the inauguration. The Potomac River froze over for the first time in years. This photo is of the Washington Waterfront, the Kennedy Center and the Watergate complex overlooking the icy river. For some reason, no one turned off the fountains at the Waterfront.
I left campus shortly before 9am to head down to the Lincoln Memorial for the "We Are One" concert. It was not even fifteen minutes after I had left, that I encountered a motorcade. Presumably, it was Hillary Clinton. My friends and I (unfazed and unimpressed by the motorcade) continued our walk to the concert. After passing the Swedish Embassy, we were stopped by a police officer. We were incredibly annoyed by this since we were trying to arrive at the concert at a decent time.
Of course, we had to wait so that then President-elect Obama and then Vice President-elect Biden could drive to Arlington National Cemetery in their massive motorcade. I have seen President Bush's and Vice President Cheney's motorcades numerous times, but this motorcade was quite impressive - and far too long. My friends and I received a cordial wave from the President-elect; at that moment, we also decided that going to the inaugural parade was superflous since we were definitely not going to get as close.
I was interviewed by TG2, an Italian television station. I think I was probably breaking news in Italy under the headline: "Young McCain Supporter Attends Obama Concert." I am being facetious, but the reporter was very surprised that I went to the concert. He questioned me for a few minutes (in English, though I tried my broken Italian) about my thoughts on Obamania, the campaign, and on what lies ahead for the country. I have yet to find the video anywhere...
We arrived at the concert around 10am. After going through security we finally reached the concert grounds, we finally secured a spot near the reflection pool, next to the Code Pink activists, under the watchful eyes of snipers and across from the sea of porta-potties. I have never seen so many porta-potties in my life!
Since the concert was not starting until 2:30pm, I spent my time reading a revolutionary newspaper and keeping warm. I was actually very happy with our location. We were not too far back from the stage and certainly ahead of far more people than were in front of us. This was most definitely the biggest crowd I had ever been in since the Papal Mass, where 46,000 were present. Some people were more creative and decided to climb trees to get a better view. I am not as adventurous.
After waiting for four hours, the concert started. As you can imagine, I had no idea who was performing. I tend to be quite oblivious to the present-day music scene. I consulted my cultural guru to help me fill in the gaps of who was singing and what he/she/they were singing. Below are highlights from the program in chronological order. I am saving you from the more...boring and disappointing...aspects of the concert - Tom Hanks, for example. I tried my best to maintain my camera stable...
- "Shower the People" performed by James Taylor, John Legend and Jennifer Nettles
- Then Vice President-elect Biden screams..er...speaks
- "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" performed by Josh Groban and Heather Headley
- Bob Marley's "One Love (Let's Get Together)" performed by Will.i.am, Herbie Hancock and Sheryl Crow
- Rodgers & Hammerstein's "You'll Never Walk Alone" performed by the U.S. Naval Academy Glee Club and opera singer Renee Fleming
- Don McLean's "American Pie" performed by Garth Brooks. This was a quintessentially American moment.
- Isley Brothers' "Shout!" performed by Garth Brooks. CAUTION: May cause dizziness.
- U2 performs their tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., "Pride (In the Name of Love)."
- Then President-elect Obama speaks
Tuesday, January 20th, 2009 - The Inauguration of the 44th President
I was fortunate enough to obtain tickets to the inauguration from Congressman Ed Pastor's office. Therefore, I did not have to leave campus ridiculously early; some friends left at midnight!
I woke up at 5am to layer-up for the day. I left my dorm at 6am and walked for 45 minutes to McPherson Square to meet a friend. From there we walked another hour to our security check point. When we arrived, it was already overflowing with people. Thankfully, we avoided the non-ticketed people and proceeded to our designated area. We managed to make it through the now-infamous I-395 tunnel. At about 8am, we arrived at our gate. Again, there were people everywhere. We waited for another hour before finally arriving at the ticketed area. There were 240,000 ticketed attendees. This is only a fraction of the nearly 1.8 million people that attended the inauguration. Almost the entire National Mall was full.
I waited for two hours before the actual program began. Seeing the crowd, the security and the US Capitol was impressive. I was not too far from the Canadian Embassy and the CNN studios, which made covering the inauguration relatively easy for me. (I Twittered the entire day.) I enjoyed listening to the San Francisco Boys and Girls Chorus perform Oscar Peterson's "Hymn to Freedom." I remembered the lyrics and music from my days in the Phoenix Boys Choir nearly six years ago. It was a moving moment, and it actually made me tear up.
Around 11am, the formal program started. I was quite disappointed at the booing during the arrival of then President Bush and then Vice President Cheney. Regardless of politics, respect should be expected of the audience especially at a state ceremony. It was a sad moment.
With all of the guests seated, the official program began at 11:30am. After the invocation, Sen Dianne Feinstein introduced Justice John Paul Stevens to administer the oath of office to then Vice President-elect Joe Biden. After a musical interlude, Sen Dianne Feinstein introduced Chief Justice John Roberts to administer the oath of office to then President-elect Barack Obama. Immediately after the swearing-in, the crowd broke out in euphoria. President Obama then delivered his inaugural address.
Once he had finished, President Obama escorted former President Bush to the east front of the US Capitol. Former President Bush and the former First Lady made one final flyover through Washington, D.C. Again, listening to the invective was disappointing. The crowd dispersed and began to make their way out of the National Mall. Mayhem ensued, fences were broken and tempers flared. It is amazing how uncivilized and rude the crowd was. They also left behind tons and tons of trash. That is somewhat ironic given that most of the people there were self-identified "environmentalists."
I made my way back to campus, via the I-395 tunnel and up Massachusetts Avenue, which was lined with vendors and Obamaphernalia. I bypassed the vendors and decided to go to Brooks Brothers instead. I arrived on campus and went to sleep. I was exhausted.
The inauguration of President Obama was the highlight of my time so far in Washington, D.C. It will probably not be my last inauguration, though. I plan to be in this city for a while. Ideally, I will get closer to the US Capitol every time. For now, I am enjoying my time as the loyal opposition. I wish President Obama and his administration well. There are many challenges ahead and I hope he delivers his campaign promises to the millions of people he inspired across the country and around the world. The expectations are great, but to quote former President Bush, we must have "...confidence in freedom's power, and trust in the people...[in order] to do their business."
